Legoland's Star Wars empire expands

Legoland California’s master model builder, Ryan Ziegelbauer, constructs the giant opee sea killer found on the planet Naboo for the Star Wars Miniland expansion. The model is created out of more than 20,000 Lego bricks.
— Courtesy of Legoland

Legoland California’s master model builder, Ryan Ziegelbauer, constructs the giant opee sea killer found on the planet Naboo for the Star Wars Miniland expansion. The model is created out of more than 20,000 Lego bricks.
/ Courtesy of Legoland

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Legoland California will give Star Wars fans an opportunity to immerse themselves even more in the films' memorable scenes and iconic characters, with the opening today of its newest attraction.

The new Lego Star Wars Gallery, fashioned in the style of a "walk of fame," will showcase three-foot-tall "mini" figures from each of the Star Wars films, from Princess Leia and R2-D2 to Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Each will be perched on a podium to afford visitors a close-up look.

But that's not all. The Carlsbad theme park is expanding upon its debut last year of Star Wars Miniland, introducing new models in each of the seven most famous scenes from the six “Star Wars” films, plus a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Miniland is fashioned from 1.5 million Lego bricks, and the characters are at 1:20 scale, or about 4 inches tall.

Among the new additions to Miniland is an "underwater” scene featuring an opee sea killer as it pursues Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Jar Jar Binks as they try to reach the city of Theed.

Legoland's bigger attraction for this year, though, will come May 24 when it debuts Pirate Reef, a swashbuckling adventure, replete with Lego pirate ships, water cannons and a 25-foot plunge down a chute.

And next year, it plans to complete a 250-room Lego-themed hotel, which will mark the park's biggest capital investment since opening in 1999.